A convoy of 40 military vehicles pulled out of the town of Daraa on Thursday as the Syrian army began a pullback from the protest centre it has locked down since April 25, an AFP correspondent reported.

Some 350 soldiers travelling in around 20 armoured personnel carriers and a similar number of trucks all bearing photographs of President Bashar al-Assad drove out of the town around 10 am (0700 GMT).

"We have begun our withdrawal after completing our mission in Daraa," said General Riad Haddad, director of the military's political department.

"The army will have pulled out of Daraa completely by the end of the day."